Sustainable North

From Business Week, Wednesday, November 18, 2009: New housing starts dropped 10.6% in October compared with September, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 529,000, the Commerce Dept.reported on Nov. 18. The number, which was lower than analyst estimates, is a seven-month low. October housing starts were down 30.7% year-over-year. Single-family housing starts were off 6.8% [...]

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ASK A BUILDER By CCHRC Staff The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life. Q: Why is it beneficial to have south-facing windows on a home? Because of the orientation with the sun, south-facing windows [...]

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From FineHomeBuilding.com, Tuesday, November 17, 2009: BASF Wall Systems recently announced the results of an Eco-Efficiency Analysis comparing brick, stucco and Senergy® Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS). The analysis was designed to determine the balance of environmental burden and life cycle costs associated with the construction, use and disposal of exterior wall claddings in [...]

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From The New York Times, Tuesday, November 17, 2009: Today, President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao announced a far-reaching package of measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy. Click here to read the full story.

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From the Alaska Journal of Commerce, Monday, November 16, 2009: A statewide weatherization program with the potential of reducing energy costs in thousands of Alaskan residences will improve some 1,740 homes in 2009 alone, and Alaska Housing Finance Corp. expects to more than quadruple that number by 2011. The goal is to weatherize 4,000 homes [...]

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From The Daily Green, March 26, 2008: Did you know that 90% of desktop computers are not optimized for energy efficiency? If yours is the one-in-ten that is, then pat yourself on the back, and get back to darning your handknit socks by the flickering light of a candle. If you’re like the rest of [...]

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From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Thursday, November 12, 2009: Michael Schlesinger delivered a grim message at the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Wednesday: Dealing with the problem of global climate change is going to be rough. Schlesinger spoke before a packed room of about 80 people as part of UAF’s Climate Change Series and repeatedly [...]

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From the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wednesday, November 11, 2009: Current optimism for a continued economic turnaround is driving oil prices higher, despite high inventories, according to the DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA released its monthly “Short-Term Energy Outlook” on November 10. Its forecast [...]

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ASK A  BUILDER The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life. Q: I have a log home. Is there anything special or different I need to know about insulating around doors and windows? A: When [...]

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From Alaska Dispatch, Monday, November 9, 2009: State energy planners expect a 50-year economic plan for the Railbelt’s six electric utilities to help make the case for major cooperation on power generation and transmission. Due out at the end of November, the plan — called the Railbelt Integrated Resource Plan — offers a roadmap for [...]

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